Delight in the Lord

Introduction: Why is this study needed?

  1. Could your life have more of God’s blessing in it? Have you wondered why it doesn’t?
  2. How high is your joy and glory in the LORD? Should it be higher than it is?

What is it to delight in the LORD?

  1. It is to delight in God. (Psa 37:4; Isa 58:14)
    1. Delight – To be highly pleased, take great pleasure, rejoice.
    2. Compare 1 Sam 19:2; Esther 2:14; Psa 147:10; Pro 3:12.
  2. It is to boast in God. (Psa 34:2; 44:8)
    1. Boast – To extol; to speak of with pride; to brag of; vaunt.
    2. Compare 2 Chron 25:19; Psa 49:6; Isa 10:15; Rom 11:18, 20; 2 Cor 9:2.
  3. It is to glory in God. (Psa 63:11; 64:10; 105:3; 149:5; Isa 41:16; 45:25; Jer 4:2; I Cor 1:31; Gal 6:14)
    1. Glory – To exult with triumph, rejoice proudly. To boast.
    2. Compare Pro 17:6; 20:29; 1 Cor 3:21; 11:7; 2 Cor 7:14; 12:1-11; Gal 6:14.
  4. It is to rejoice in God. (Psa 9:2; 32:11; 33:1, 21; 63:11; 66:6; 68:3; 85:6; 89:16; 97:12; 149:2; Isa 61:10; Hab 3:17-19; Phil 4:4; 1 Pet 1:8)
    1. Rejoice – To be glad or greatly delighted; to exult.
    2. Compare Pro 5:18; 23:15-16, 24-25; 27:9; 28:12.
  5. It is to be glad in God. (Psa 9:2; 21:6; 32:11; 64:10; 92:4; 97:11-12; 126:3)
    1. Glad – Rejoiced, affected with pleasure by some cause.
    2. Compare Psa 4:7; Pro 10:1.
  6. It is to take pleasure in God. (Psa 111:2)
    1. Pleasure – A source or subject of delight.
  7. It is to find sweetness in God. (Psa 104:34)
    1. Sweetness – Providing pleasure or delight to the mind.
  8. This is not considering delighting in Scripture, the Truth, the Church, etc.
    1. It is right to delight in the Scriptures (Psa 1:2; 119:14,47,111,162; Neh 8:12; Rom 7:22)
    2. It is right to delight in the church (Psa 84:10; 102:14; 122:1; 137:5-6; Isa 66:10-11)
    3. Avoid the ditch of exalting intellectual knowledge of doctrine over knowing God Himself.
    4. Avoid the ditch of making God so personal and familiar He loses His glorious majesty.
  9. Think about how you treat something in which you delight, objects of natural delight.
    1. You want to know as much about it as you possibly can to further your glorying.
    2. You want to share with others its superiority so they can find glory in it too.
    3. You want to protect it from any evil report & defend it from those who despise it.
    4. You want to avoid any personal behavior that would offend or corrupt it.
    5. You want to be around it and consider it as much as possible to maximize pleasure.

It is our duty to delight in the LORD.

  1. Ps 34:3-6 teaches this duty along with faith and righteousness.
  2. God created man & all things for His glory & pleasure (Pro 16:4; Rev 4:11; Rom 9:22-23).
  3. God’s purpose in creation & providence is to receive all the glory (1Cor 1:31; Ecc 7:14).
  4. God is jealous of His glory (Ex 34:14; Isa 42:8), & He will be exalted (Psa 46:8-10).
  5. Gentiles are instructed by prophecy to rejoice with Israel (Psa 149:2 cp Rom 15:10).
  6. Paul commanded New Testament saints to rejoice in the LORD (Phil 4:4; 1Thes 5:16).
  7. God warned Israel severely against serving God without joyfulness & gladness (Deu 28:47).
  8. It is a wicked and foolish scorner who thinks delighting in God does no profit (Job 34:9).
  9. The Lord rejoices in His works (Psa 104:31). If He does, then we by all means should do so.

21st century man needs something to glory in.

  1. You can’t blame contemporary “Christians” for being hypocrites. They have no God in Whom they can delight.
  2. You can’t blame young people for rejecting “Christianity” since it has not God to delight in.
  3. Men, hungry for a champion to delight in, miss the mark in today’s world.
    1. Some have a mental orientation – they delight in man’s learning & education.
    2. Some have a physical orientation – they delight in athletic achievement.
    3. Some have a financial orientation – they delight in the pursuit of monetary wealth.
    4. But searching for glory in humanity is no glory at all (Pro 25:27).
    5. God recommends Himself and His works above all three listed above (Jer 9:23-24).
  4. Sometimes God’s people need revival to rejoice in Him again (Psa 85:6; Jer 33:10-11).

Let us consider those aspects of the LORD’s nature that should bring us delight.

  1. His Power – consider the sun (Gen 1:3-5; Jos 10:12-14; 2Ki 20:8-11; Matt 27:45).
  2. His Beauty – consider the King against Whom there is no rising up (Pro 30:29-31; Psa 97:1; Dan 4:34-35)!
  3. His Holiness – consider Nadab & Abihu (Lev 10:1-7) and the angels (2Pe 2:4).
  4. His Judgments – consider Egypt (Deu 4:34), Lot’s wife (Gen 19:26), 42 children (2Ki 2:23-24), Israel (Lam 2:20-22; Matt 24:21), Nebuchadnezzer (Dan 4:33), Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), Herod (Acts 13:11), and in general (Psa 9:16; 46:8-10; 48:11; 66:1-7).
  5. His Terribleness – consider the flood (Gen 7:20-22), God’s law (Heb 12:21; Ex 21:17; Deu 22:21; 25:11-12), Jehoram (2Chron 21:12-20), and Sodomy (Rom 1:18-32) among others.
  6. His Providence – consider Ruth (Ruth 2:1-3), Esther (Esther 2:7), Mordecai (Esther 2:21-23), David (1Sam 17:29), Ahab (1Ki 22:34), and in general (Psa 107:21-30, 31-43).
  7. His Tenderness – consider Jacob (Gen 45:25-28), Hezekiah (Isa 38:5), and Job (Jam 5:11).
  8. His Humor – consider the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9), the plagues of Egypt (Ex 7-14), quail (Num 11:18-33), a dumb ass (Num 22:21-31), Haman (Esther 5-7), the ostrich (Job 39:13-18), emerods (Psa 78:66; 1Sam 5-6), and idolaters (Isa 44:9-20).
  9. His Salvation – consider redemption (Isa 52:7-10; 61:10; Acts 13:48; Gal 6:14).
  10. His Mind – consider Scripture (Psa 119:162; Job 23:12; Neh 8:12; Ex 20:12-17).

Let us consider the benefits, the effects of practicing delighting in the LORD in our lives.

  1. Righteousness: it helps keep you from sin (Psa 4:4; Ex 20:20).
  2. Service: it motivates us to serve such a Great King (Isa 61:1-8; 2Ki 10:16).
  3. Joy: you can joy and glory in life regardless of circumstances (Jer 9:23-24; Hab 3:17-19).
  4. Faith: it boosts you trust in the LORD’ ability and His providence (Esther).
  5. Blessing: it is a principle way to bring His blessing into your life (Isa 58:14; Job 22:21).
  6. Glory: there is great glory when righteousness men rejoice (Pro 28:12; Psa 118:15; 1Pe 1:8).
  7. Peace: Our circumstances pale in comparison to thoughts of the Most High (Isa 26:3).
  8. Because of lying prophets, there is neither joy nor fear where it belongs (Eze 13:22).

Finally, let us look at the practical steps to increasing our delight in the LORD.

  1. We must take special care & effort to consider God’s Word (Rom 15:4; Psa 46:8)
  2. We must take special care & effort to see the LORD in His worship (Psa 63:1-2; 68:24; 73:16-17).
  3. We must take special care & effort to meditate and muse on God (Psa 4:4; 63:5-6; 143:5).
  4. We must make our boast of the LORD to others (Psa 34:2; 70:4; 77:11-12; 145:4-12; Mal 3:16-18).
  5. We should take time & expense to celebrate the greatness of our God (Deu 14:26).